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History

The station was opened on 1 June 1850 by the "little" North Western Railway, later taken over by the Midland Railway.[2] During part of the 19th century, it was known as Bentham High[3] as the neighbouring settlement of Low Bentham also had its own station (although this only lasted for three years, being closed to passenger traffic in 1853). The station was provided with various facilities by the Midland Railway, including a signal box, water tower and column, goods shed and several sidings on the northern side of the line. These had all been removed by the early 1970s (the signal box being the last to go in 1972).

The station building (built in 1955/56 after the original Midland structure was demolished by British Railways) is now privately owned,[4] the station having been reduced to unstaffed halt status in October 1970.[5] It has had its own community volunteer support group (The Friends of Bentham Station) since September 2011, which is based in the aforementioned building on the eastbound platform and has support from various local organisations (such as the route's Rail User Group, Craven District Council & the Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe Line Community Rail Partnership).

Facilities

Timetable posters and digital information screens on both platforms provide train running information, whilst there are waiting shelters on each side (the stone one on the westbound platform dates back to Midland Railway days, whereas its counterpart on the opposite side is much more modern). Tickets need to be purchased on the train or in advance of travel at present, but Northern has plans to install ticket vending machines here in 2019, along with other stations on the route.[6]

All services are operated by Northern. There are eight departures each way (increased from seven the start of the May 2019 timetable). Westbound, trains run to Wennington, Carnforth, Lancaster and Morecambe (five trains only), whilst trains in the other direction run to Clapham, Giggleswick, Skipton and Leeds.[7] Connections for Bradford Forster Square are available at Shipley, although through trains do operate occasionally if the line to Leeds is closed for engineering work.

On Sundays there are now five services in each direction throughout the year (all running to/from Morecambe since the winter 2019 timetable update). The alterations to give better journey opportunities for commuters to both Leeds and Lancaster (and additional Sunday services) were implemented at the May 2018 timetable change.[8] Further station improvements are also planned, such as the installation of ticket machines, video help points and improved lighting.[9] The removal of "Pacer" DMUs from the route is also scheduled for 2019.